British Isles and German Genealogy (Roadshow 2017)

This month (August 2017) family historians in Australia and New Zealand have a unique opportunity to hear leading international genealogists Chris Paton and Dirk Weissleder explain how to research our British Isles and European ancestors.

Chris and Dirk are giving a series of presentations during Unlock the Past's genealogy roadshow entitled Researching Abroad: Finding British Isles and European Ancestors. Right now the roadshow is in Auckland, then it moves on to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth. On the roadshow's main page, click on your city to see full programme details and a booking form for that venue. There are also links to pages about the speakers, prizes, special offers, sponsors and exhibitors.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-day event in Brisbane. Chris Paton (an engaging and entertaining speaker) talked about many aspects of Scottish and Irish genealogy. He packs a huge amount of useful information into his talks!

I also learned a great deal from Dirk Weissleder, who spoke mainly about resources for Germany, Poland, Prussia etc. He highlighted the importance of using maps to determine where our ancestors lived, and the reasons for (and problems associated with) boundary changes. He also explained why 'understanding how Germans think' can be an advantage if you want to contact record offices or visit the area where your ancestors lived.

While Chris and Dirk took a break, local speakers briefly described MyHeritage technologies, and British and European resources held by libraries and societies in Brisbane. Unfortunately we didn't learn much about the Genealogical Society of Queensland's holdings, and I was disappointed that the Queensland Family History Society didn't do more to promote their magnificent index 'Emigrants from Hamburg to Australasia'.

In each Australian city a different (local) person will give an introductory talk about using DNA tests (a genealogy tool that is starting to pay dividends for me now).

I didn't let myself get carried away at the roadshow's bookstall, but there are some good discounts available. There are also great prizes to be won at each venue. And of course, it's always fun to catch up with friends and colleagues whom I rarely see, and to meet new people who share my passion for family history.

For a more in-depth report, see Pauleen Cass's posts in Family History Across the Seas.

Disclosure: Unlock the Past gave me a free ticket to the roadshow, but my comments here are my honest opinion and would be exactly the same if I'd paid my own way.

(This post first appeared on https://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com/2017/08/british-isles-and-german-genealogy.html.)

Favourite Web Sites

This is an updated version of a post that I wrote a few years ago in response to a survey at Genea-Musings. We were asked to rank eight Web sites in order of importance to our research. I don't use some of the American sites listed in the survey, so I have substituted sites that are important to me.

1. Google for general searching, blogs, and Google Alerts.


2. GENUKI - best starting point for UK/Ireland genealogy.


3. FindMyPast for indexes, transcripts and images of original documents, with (usually) more accurate indexing than Ancestry.


4. Discovery for records held by The National Archives (UK) plus 2,500 archives across the country. Over 9 million records are available for download.


5. Trove for searchable digitised Australian newspapers and much more.


6. Cyndi's List for the biggest list of genealogy links worldwide.


7. FreeBMD for civil registration indexes (England & Wales); and see how to use FreeBMD Postems to find distant relatives.


8. FamilySearch for its catalogue (especially good for finding out what records exist for a town or parish), genealogy guides, indexes, European records, etc.

Other sites that I use frequently:

• LostCousins (for Britain, Canada and the USA).


• CuriousFox (gazetteer, maps and message board system for the United Kingdom, Ireland and USA).

Although I've had great success with some of Ancestry's databases, especially the National Probate Calendar (an index of wills and administrations that shows the names and whereabouts of vast numbers of people in other countries), I cannot bring myself to rank Ancestry in the Top 8 because its indexing is often inaccurate and I don't like the way it presents search results.

Which Web sites do you find essential for your research?

Watchhouse records: People Arrested and Victims of Crime (Wednesday's Webpage for Genealogy)

This week's featured Web page for genealogy is 'Police Watchhouse Records'. Find out why they are of great value to family historians, and check the lists of names (offenders and victims) from records that I've indexed. These people were from all over the world, especially England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia and Europe, with smaller numbers from other areas.

Although the registers vary in format, most give the date, town, prisoner's name, aliases, age, occupation, religion, state or country of origin, education level, offence, and how disposed of (fine or term of imprisonment, or whether sent to a reformatory, asylum etc. or discharged, cautioned, or committed for trial at which court and when). Some show previous convictions and the prisoner's signature and property. Some victims of crime are named, and there are occasional references to illegitimate children.

Offences include theft, drunk and disorderly, breaking and entering, child (or wife) desertion, having no visible lawful means of support, attempted suicide, being of unsound mind, inciting to riot, beating a horse, assault, murder, supplying opium to an Aboriginal, and being a neglected child. Children appear in the records as both offenders and victims.

An entry in a watchhouse charge book usually spreads across two large pages. This image shows some of the details that are often on the first page.

This image shows examples of minor offences. Note the reference to someone who was arrested on suspicion of being of unsound mind. Those people were often transferred to a mental asylum.

Police Station watchhouse charge books often provide clues to sources for further research (Court, prison and mental asylum records, criminal depositions, murder files, Police Gazettes and other police records, etc.)

On the Police Watchhouse Records page, follow links and check the lists of names. If you find a name of interest, scroll down to the 'Copying Service' section on that page. It explains how to get a copy of the original record.

This post is number 4 in my Wednesday's Webpage series, which focuses on pages that either describe genealogy sources or research strategies, or list names from indexes to original records in Archives or elsewhere.

(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com/2016/02/watchhouse-records-people-arrested-and.html.)

Historical Photos and Sketches of People (Wednesday's Webpage for Genealogy)

This week's featured Web page is Historical Photos and Sketches of People.

All family historians are curious to know what the people in their family tree looked like. With that in mind, I am searching through various series of records in Government Archives and creating a name index for photographs or sketches of people. The original records include biographical or background details about the subject. This is a superb resource for family history!

My index includes photos (portraits) or sketches of:

• people sought by anxious relatives/friends
• people believed drowned or murdered
• other missing persons (some were children)
• wife / child deserters
• deserters from ships or military service
• fathers of illegitimate children
• prison escapees
• criminals and suspects.

Most of the subjects were born in the United Kingdom, Ireland, western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, USA or Canada. A few were from other countries.

This is an ongoing indexing project, with 1,700 names online now and about 1,000 names yet to be added. Check the list of names, which is spread over two pages. If you find a name of interest, scroll down to the 'Copying Service' section on that page. It explains how to get a copy of the photograph or sketch and its associated document.

This post is number 3 in my Wednesday's Webpage series. Each week I will focus on one page that either describes genealogy sources or research strategies, or lists names from indexes to original records in Archives or elsewhere.

(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com/2016/02/historical-photos-and-sketches-of.html.)

Old Age Pensions (Wednesday's Webpage for Genealogy)

This week's featured Web page is Old Age Pensions and Genealogy. It leads to pages with names of over 9,200 applicants, most of whom were born before the 1850s in either the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia or western Europe (especially Germany and Scandinavia), plus a few from other countries.

If an application was rejected, the reasons can be illuminating.

Examples of reasons for rejection

Before you search the names, read the explanation of eligibility criteria and the sources that were indexed.

This post is number 2 in my Wednesday's Webpage series. Each week I will focus on one page that either describes genealogy sources or research strategies, or lists names from indexes to original records in Archives or elsewhere.

(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com/2016/01/old-age-pensions-wednesdays-webpage-for.html.)

6 Genealogy Sources You May Have Overlooked

Image by Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Searching for ancestors who vanished? Looking for a way to break down those genealogy brick walls?

Try these sources, all of which refer to people from many countries. In each record set, read 'Learn More' and 'Discover More' to find out about the record contents and sources. When images are available, either online or in Archives, they will have information that is not in the transcription.

1. British Civil Service Evidence of Age records
   
   These records are for people from around the world, including 654 from Australia / NZ. I've found some exciting details (especially for people whose birth was never registered) in images that have recently been added to this record set. Note that a right arrow leads to the next related image, which is often a baptism record.


2. Passport records
   
   Various series of passport records refer to people departing either temporarily or permanently (eg, going overseas on holidays or returning to their home country). Records held in Queensland (Australia) often give not only departure details but also ship and date of arrival and State of disembarkation.


3. Trade Union Records
   
   These are for railway staff, carpenters, joiners, cabinetmakers, woodworkers, lithographic artists/printers, designers, engravers, boilermakers, iron shipbuilders, etc. Countries included are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Channel Islands, England, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Isle Of Man, Malta, New Zealand, Rhodesia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, USA and Wales.  Australian branches include Adelaide, Ballarat, Bathurst, Bendigo, Brisbane, Broken Hill, Charters Towers, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart, Ipswich, Kalgoorlie, Leeton, Mackay, Melbourne, Mildura, Mount Morgan, Newcastle, Perth, Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Sydney, Townsville, Wollongong and others.


4. Great Western Railway shareholders
   
   The index includes names of shareholders, executors, beneficiaries and others (many of whom lived overseas). The image often gives death or burial date/place, occupation, address, names of other parties (executors or legatees for deaths, and husbands for marriages), date of marriage or other event. Most events relate to residents of England and Wales, but there are also thousands of Scottish, Irish and overseas records, including more than 200 entries for Australians.


5. British India Office collection
   
   If you are researching someone who lived or worked in India, start here. This collection includes births, baptisms, marriages, deaths, burials, wills and probate records, civil and military pensions, East India Company cadet papers, and applications for the civil service. It covers military personnel, civil servants, surgeons, planters, entrepreneurs, missionaries and others. I found a pension record that gave names and exact birthplaces (long before civil registration) of the man's children, who were back home in England.


6. New South Wales will books (wills for people worldwide, as explained below).
   
   Don't be put off by the 'NSW' heading! The collection includes wills for many people from other States and other countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, New Zealand, Canada, USA, South Africa, Germany, Fiji, Mexico, India, Holland, China, Papua, New Guinea, etc. For my personal tips on using this magnificent resource, see Will Books 1800-1952.

If you've made exciting discoveries in any of these sources, please tell us about them in a comment below.

(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/6-genealogy-sources-you-may-have.html.)

I use and recommend the Book Depository.

Using LostCousins for genealogy (UK, Ireland, USA and Canada)

LostCousins logo

LostCousins is probably the only Web site that identifies (with virtually 100% accuracy) people who share the same ancestors. You do not waste time corresponding with people who are not related to you! I've found several new relatives via the site.

To use LostCousins you need to find your relatives in the census for England and Wales 1841, 1881 or 1911; Scotland 1881; Ireland 1911; Canada 1881; Newfoundland 1921; or United States 1880 or 1940. Then at LostCousins you enter the census source/page details for those names.

Before gathering and entering data, read the instructions on LostCousins very carefully ('Information - Read this first') because requirements for each census are different. If you prepare well, entering the data is a lot quicker.

Be sure to enter census data for brothers and sisters of your direct ancestors, because their descendants are the cousins you want to contact. One such descendant had a family bible and a letter from my great-great-grandfather, which overcame a dead end in my research.

After entering your relatives' census references, click 'Search', and the system checks whether anyone else has already entered identical data. If they have, it means that you are both researching the same people.

Remember to log in periodically, go to your 'My Ancestors' page and click 'Search' again to check for matches with new LostCousins members.

It is free to join LostCousins and enter your data, but you can, if you wish, pay a small annual subscription (about $10) so that there are no delays in making contact with my distant cousins when they are identified by the extremely accurate matching system.

The more people who enter census data for direct ancestors and their siblings, the greater the chances of finding our 'lost cousins'. Maybe you are my distant relative! I'm trying to find you - so please... start using LostCousins today!
- - -
(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/using-lostcousins-for-genealogy-uk.html.)

FindMyPast's world records discount offer

FindMyPast's logo

FindMyPast periodically offers discounts and 'free access' days, which in future I will list on the Discounts and Freebies page on my main Web site. You may also want to read why I use and recommend FindMyPast.

A one-month 'world' subscription to FindMyPast is just $5 (usually $19.95) for new subscribers who pay before midnight on 1 Sep 2014.

The world subscription gives you access to more than 1.5 billion family history records for Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, the USA and Canada.

If you do not want your subscription to automatically renew at the normal price after your initial period, un-tick the 'auto-renew my subscription' box in the My Account section of the site.

Check whether more recent offers are listed on the Discounts and Freebies page.

Old Age Pension Records for Genealogy

Register of old age pension applicants

Most people listed in the source I am about to describe were born in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany or Scandinavia. A few were born in other parts of the world, including Australia. All of them later lived (at least for a while) in Queensland.

Pensions were only under the control of the State Government for a short time, but Queensland State Archives hold records of more than 9,000 applicants for the old age pension 1908-1909. The records give information about people who received the pension plus hundreds whose applications were rejected. Most rejections were on the basis of age, period of residence or annual income, but some of the other reasons provide a clue to the applicant's character (eg, 'intemperate' or 'deserted his wife'). Although many applicants were under the required age, pensions were only granted to those aged at least 65 years (that is, born before about 1843-1844).

In 1908-1909, electoral enrolment was not yet compulsory in Queensland. Old age pension registers give the place of residence of many people who were not on electoral rolls. This includes some applicants who were not British subjects and not naturalised (and thus not eligible to vote) but who applied (though in vain) for a pension.

The vast majority of register entries give the claim date; surname; given name; country or Australian State of birth; alleged age; total number of years in Queensland; town or suburb of current residence; whether the application was approved or rejected; if approved, the amount of pension payable, date payment commenced and town where paid; if rejected, the reason for rejection; and sometimes other remarks such as 'sent to Dunwich Benevolent Asylum'. For many residents of Ravenswood and Townsville, a second register gives extra details (marital status, spouse's name, full address and exact birth date).

All names from my index to old age pension applicants are on my Web site, with an explanation of the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908 and its implications for family history research, advice about pension records and related sources before and after 1908-1909, and details of the copying service for original pension records.

The names, with full source references, are also on FindMyPast.

Headstones and Distant Burials (Tuesday's Tip)

George Hudson is William's son

The fact that a person's name appears on a headstone does not necessarily mean that he or she is actually buried there. Many headstones include the name of a family member buried in another town or another country. Sometimes the inscription makes that clear, but in many cases it does not.

There is a headstone for my great-great-grandfather, William HUDSON (1806-1882) in the churchyard at Crambe, North Yorkshire, England. I had no idea that he was actually buried in Linthorpe Cemetery at Middlesbrough - until I found a funeral card among family documents.

Depending on the geographical location, records that may specify the place of burial could include a death certificate, will, inquest file, newspaper notice, memorial card, or a church, cemetery or local government burial register. (Indexes to many headstones and burial registers are now on Findmypast.)

Records created by undertakers and funeral directors are another source of information about the place of burial. In Australia, many genealogical groups have indexed such records for their local area. Some are listed in Specialist Indexes in Australia: a Genealogist's Guide.

The records of Gregson and Weight (funeral directors in Queensland, Australia) refer to burials or funeral services that took place as far away as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Fiji, Sweden, Greece, Hungary, Austria and the Netherlands.

Have you found other sources of information about distant places of burial?
~~~

Paid Online Genealogy Tools (52 weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 2)

In '52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy', this year's series of weekly blogging prompts by Amy Coffin, we are invited to make others aware of genealogy resources, share our tips on their use, and show the providers that we appreciate them.

Week 2 - Paid Online Genealogy Tools.  Which paid genealogy tool do you appreciate the most? What special features put it at the top of your list? How can it help others with their genealogy research?

Last week's LostCousins newsletter referred to a 7-page article in which four family historians compared the four main subscription sites. Three of the four historians said that overall they preferred FindMyPast. I agree - partly because FindMyPast's transcriptions and indexes are the most accurate, and partly because my research is mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia.

I suspect that many posts this week will be about the 'Big Four', so instead of dwelling on FindMyPast I want to highlight a smaller site, 'LostCousins'. Its claim to fame is that it is the only web site that is virtually 100% accurate in identifying people who share the same ancestors. You do not waste time corresponding with people who are not related to you! The automated system also keeps your data hidden.

To use LostCousins you need to find your relatives in specific online censuses for England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada or the United States. Then you enter the source/page details at LostCousins. Read the instructions carefully before gathering and entering data, as requirements for each census are different. If you prepare well, entering the data is a lot quicker. Be sure to include brothers and sisters of your direct ancestors, because it is their descendants who are the cousins you want to contact.

After entering your relatives' census references, click 'Search', and the system checks whether anyone else has already entered identical data. Remember to log in periodically, go to your 'My Ancestors' page and repeat the search.

The more people who enter census data for direct ancestors and their siblings, the greater the chances of finding our 'lost cousins'. For updated information about LostCousins, see Why I Recommend LostCousins.
- - -
(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/paid-online-genealogy-tools-52-weeks-of.html.)

CuriousFox (Follow Friday)

Those with genealogy interests in Ireland or the USA may want to read my blog post about CuriousFox, a gazetteer and message system that connects family and local historians. There are two versions: one for the the UK and Ireland and another for the USA.

Wordless Wednesday - Road sign, Co. Cork, Ireland

Road sign, Cork, Ireland. © Judy Webster, 1987.

('Wordless Wednesday' is a theme used by 'Geneabloggers'.)